Behind The Golden Ice
by AiOtaku
Summary: '"Fine Inuyasha, have it your way, but you might want to SIT down for this!"The hanyou went plummeting into the earth, face first, making a body shaped hole in his destruction.' 'Uh-oh, he set her off. What an idiot' shippou thought.' Inuyasha did it again! Why can't he see Kagome for who she really is? A crimson eyed follower? And when did Sesshoumaru come into the picture?
1. Once a Jerk, Always a Jerk

Naraku, the evil hanyou who loved to prey on innocent beings, be it human or demon, or anything in between. With his lifeless incarnations, he tears apart all things in his path, breaking apart the bonds and lives that people worked so hard building. With overwhelming greed, he continues to search for the last remaining jewel shards to fill his own selfish desires. He sits in the safety of his own castle, watching the world carefully through a transparent mirror.

_"Kagome." a voice smooth like velvet whispered from the abyss of darkness._

_He's coming for me. All I can hear is the sound of my heart beat throbbing in my ears. I can't breath. It feels like I've been running for hours upon hours, never stopping for a break to catch my uneven breath. The walls are closing in. He's getting closer. I can feel his breath on my shoulder, chilling me even deeper than bone. Run faster! All I can do is run. From running farther away, it seems I'm only venturing further into the web of horror. His crimson eyes, filled with nothing but greed and much wanted power, are watching me from all sides, everywhere I turn. Fear spread thick like fog around the never ending path. Spider like arms drape around me like a pale bone curtain, threatening to pull me in..._

"Kagome!" the petite, but strong demon slayer all but screamed at the unknowing miko. She sat on her knees on the ground next to her friend and waited for her to awaken. She watched as her friend stayed in the same position, not budging an inch. Time drawing on, she prepared to use her last resort, which was tickling the girl until she gave in, when kagome's electric blue eyes fluttered open at the sound of her friends high pitched, but mature voice.

"You have been thrashing about in your sleep. Did you have a bad dream?" relief washed over the slayer. Her worried stance relaxed and her shoulders went into more comfortable position. She had been talking with Miroku when kagome started muttering in her sleep. She started to fidget and you could see her eyes shaking under her closed lids. Scared for her friend, she was going to wake her, but as she got closer to the sleeping miko her arm shot out and smacked the slayer in the face.

Kagome rubbed her tired, half-opened, eyes. She turned her head into sangos direction, sleep still glazing over her eyes.

"Sango-chan? I don't remember having a dream. How long have I been out?" Stretching, she sits up in her sleeping bag, pulling back the covers to release her legs from the cotton cocoon. One burst out and the other followed. She got to her knees and crawled over to where she had put her shoes the previous night.

"Not long, but long enough for us to get a late start. Didn't you say you sensed a jewel shard? Why are you dragging us behind?" Inuyasha chimed in, interrupting the slayer, being his usual blunt self. His hands were tucked away into his sleeves as they always were when he was being stubborn. He glanced at the miko, waiting for her explanation.

"Well, sorry, Mr. Perfect. Not everyone can be such a big, _strong_ hanyou such as you. Some people need this thing called _sleep_." She got the shoes she was struggling with on and crawled back over to her sleeping bag to start packing her supplies.

"Feh, whatever, but you better hurry up before we leave you behind" Inuyasha shouted over his shoulder as he was walking over to a large shaded tree to sit under. He fiddled around in his sleeve and dug out the bag of onion flavored chips that he had been saving since the last time kagome had went to her time. He opened the chip bag and munched on his much awaited snack, not caring about the glares that he was getting from the demon slayer for crunching too loud.

"I wouldn't leave Kagome behind Inuyasha! You big block head, take back what you said!" the little fox kit yelled over to the hanyou, who then started to further antagonize the kit. Shippou threw a crying acorn into the other direction to catch inuyasha attention. Inuyasha looked at what he was throwing, his eyes scrunching up so he could see it in the distance. Smiling, shippou snatched the goodies out of his clawed hand and ran the other direction, climbing up into the nearest tree for protection. Inuyasha looked at his hand in disbelief and shot to his feet, running after his precious snack.

Kagome rolled her eyes and started rolling up her conveniently light sleeping bag that she bought on the last trip to her time, which had been ages ago. She had started to get sick of the cold, and decided it was time to get one that wouldn't be a hindrance to carry. She made sure to pick a darker color, instead of the oh so familiar silver-white colored one that she wanted, so that she could have some protection just in case she had to plunge herself in to the bushes, buying time to ready her bow if a demon came when the group was sleeping.

She put the sleeping bag in her faded yellow bag and yawned, stretching her arms as far as they would go. She looked down at herself and grinned with satisfaction. She no longer wore her junior high uniform. When she had surprisingly managed to pass her high school entrance exams, mostly out of pity from the school board, she had gotten a crisp new uniform to replace it. Not that she was wearing it; she wanted to keep it from getting ruined. She had decided to retire her uniform usage and to dress in a less restricting way. She was now dressed in an out fit similar to sangos, except instead of a full body outfit, it was like a mini kimono that stopped just above her knees. It was with out sleeves and was a deep blackish-blue with silver lining around the out side edge and belt, making it look like a starry night sky around her slim waist. The colors against her deep ebony hair and electric blue eyes were even more defined against the color of the fabric, making her skin a beautiful tone of ivy and her lips an innocent pale pink.

Pulling her bag onto her back, she decided to pick up some rocks and put them on the fires remains, making sure they were all the way put out. 'We wouldn't want to have any spread to the underbrush' she thought to herself. Nodding to herself in satisfaction that the job was done, she called to the group that they were leaving and everyone followed.

It was such a beautiful morning. The birds were twittering to each other about the previous day, the trees were dancing about in the slight mid afternoon breeze. The sky was a beautiful robins egg blue, golden highlights added by the almost fully risen sun. Not a cloud in sight. 'Ah, the temperature's just right. Last night was so cold. Just thinking about it makes me shiver, how unu-'

"Lady Kagome, what are the plans for today? Which way shall we travel?" The monk curiously asked, interrupting her thoughts. He stopped and sango bumped into him in surprise. Blushing from embarrassment, she muttered a quick apology and directed her attention to kagome.

"Wait a minute, who said Kagome was in charge of where we go?" inuyasha interjected.

"Because, inuyasha, I know where the jewel shard is located, remember?" kagome snapped, still agitated about their previous conversation. She glared at the hanyou and his ears flattened to his head, sending his eyes downcast.

"Feh" was all inuyasha could say. After all, she was right.

"I sensed a shard over by the mountain pass yesterday, but now I sense multiple, maybe two, that seem to be going into the direction of kaedes village." Kagome raised her hand to her head and ran her fingers through her silky hair, untangling the places she had missed with the brush.

"Could it be the same shard?" Shippo asked, including himself into the conversation, his eyes focused on kagome intently. Kagome's mouth went into a slight smile. 'Carful shippou, don't focus too hard or your eyes will get stuck that way' She mused in her head.

"That's unlikely. It takes at least a day to get from the mountain, all the way to kaedes village, even for a demon" Sango informed the little fox kit, as well as the whole group. They all shifted uncomfortably at the reality they had to face. They had already walked half way to the mountains just to have to turn right back? It was either keep going to the mountains to see if they could find any clues, or head back to the village. Either way, it would be a long trip and their supplies were dwindling...

"I think we should head to the village and check it out. Besides, I'm getting really low on supplies and I haven't been able to go back to my time in months. I have to visit school once in a while or I might as well be proclaimed dead." Kagome suggested, almost pleading in a way. She really hadn't been back to her time in a while. There had been so many leads, but all of them always seemed to go no where.

"Oh no you don't. We just got a lead on a shard by the mountain and we're already half way there. There's no way we're going back and neither are you. Why are you so selfish? School isn't as important as the jewel shard, you know, the one that _you _broke. Besides, you said two shards? It's probably that smelly wolf."Inuyasha argued. There was no way she was going home. Not when they had just got another lead.

"Inuyasha, she may be right. Why not stop while we're ahead, No? We have been traveling for more than a handful of days, and could use some new supplies. There would be no reason that Kouga would go to kaedes village unless kagome was there and being a wolf demon, he would have been able to tell if she was there or not." Miroku insisted on the scenario, trying to ease the situation. He looked over at kagome and then back to inuyasha. Kagome look annoyed. Nobody wanted that.

"No, Miroku, that's okay. Fine inuyasha, have it your way, but you might want to SIT down for this" The hanyou went plummeting into the earth, face first, making a body shaped hole in his destruction.

"How dare you say school isn't important! You know that I'm already sacrificing a big part of my future standing here looking for jewel shards, when I could be studying! Me? Selfish? I go back to my time and bring back supplies for you, for ALL of us! You have no right telling me where I can and can not go!" The miko yelled down to the now dirt covered hanyou. 'Uh-oh, he set her off. What an idiot' shippo thought. Inuyasha didn't like the amused look that was on the kits face.

Kagome picked her bag up off the ground from where she had thrown it in her rage and turned the other way, walking away from the group with an annoyed look on her face.

"I'll be in my time if you need me. See you guys in a few days!" She shouted over her shoulder toward the group, waving a hand of fare well, leaving them stunned. 'Now you did it Inuyasha. Good job.' the group thought in unison.

* * *

"What was his problem? Why can't he get it through his big head? Not all of my time can be dedicated to finding jewel shards. I have two worlds, therefore, two separate problems I have to deal with." Kagome was fuming. She had been walking for hours going over the situation. 'Maybe it wasn't the best idea to travel from the group…' the stubborn miko thought after she cooled down. It was starting to get dark. She began to pick up the pace a little and started into a light jog to take her mind of the approaching darkness.

Before she knew it, the sky faded from a vibrant azure blue to a veil of black. Stars were shinning all around, lighting up the night sky. The birds had retired for the night, leaving the stage for the frogs and crickets to ponder through. 'It might be a good idea to start a fire. Good thing the stars are brighter in the feudal era' she thought.

The stars weren't nearly as bright in Tokyo. They were so vibrant here, which was a good thing for the situation at hand, but a bad thing when you're trying to sleep and the start light shines in your face.

Kagome spent a few minutes scavenging for wood and decided where she would set up camp. Not close enough to the trees for the fire to catch on anything, but close enough so she could use her surrounding for cover if needed. She cleared a spot of rocks and pebbles and lay out her sleeping bag, making sure that it was positioned the right way.

Getting her pan, she stared to set up the dinner supplies. Remembering that inuyasha wasn't there to find a stream, she quickly dismissed the idea of ramen or fish. She could go out and search for water if she wanted to, but she thought it wasn't the best idea considering the fact that she couldn't see where she was going. She felt no need to accidentally step in the wrong place and be forced to sleep in soggy clothes. She would have to settle for trail mix tonight.

Throwing the sticks and twigs into the fire pit she had made, she reached into her back and pulled out a match. She struck the match alight and threw it into the pile. The wood was dry and it caught easily enough. While being warmed by the fire and finally falling into a deep sleep, kagome was oblivious to the pair of crimson eyes staring intently at her through the night. 'This is going to be fun' thought the owner, with a gigantic, devious grin on their face.

* * *

**Alright everyone, what do you think? ****Thank you so much for choosing to read _Behind the Golden Ice_!**

**~AiOtaku**


	2. Just My Luck

Looking out across the mountains, Sango, Shippou, and Miroku wondered if there somewhat stubborn friend was alright. She had stormed off so fast that Sango didn't have the chance to tell her that they were near the demon slayers village. Sango had always had a hard time when they got close to her now destroyed village. She wished that she had her friends comfort and company. It was not as if the others weren't there, she just wanted Kagome to be with her and tell her it was alright. She always has had a peaceful aura. The ones you would find in the people who truly care about others. Sango's head dropped in utter disappointment. She saw a pebble and kicked it over the side of the mountain, watching it fall to its rocky death.

After kagome stormed off, Inuyasha got up and _almost_ went to go after her. Figuring the mood she was in was dangerous to his well being, he decided that she was strong enough to get back to the bone eaters well by herself.

Being close to her old village, Sango suggested that they go stay there. Before she had set off with the group, she had built a mini hut for her to say in when she wanted to come and tend to the graves of her people. It was small, but if every one didn't mind touching a little, they could all fit in. Miroku wasn't one to protest, insisting that he sleep next to the slayer to keep her warm. Sango didn't like that idea.

They walked for a ways until they saw a huge wood fence made up of pillars of wood. It looked as though the pillars were just trees held together, except instead of branches or leaves at the top, they were sharpened into a clean point, threatening anything or anyone who tried to get over it. Sango lead the group through the gate and then stopped when she got to her mini hut. While the group had started to build a fire, the sky started to go into overcast.

"That's weird. It was so sunny a moment ago." Sango thought out loud, catching everybody's attention.

"It's probably going to storm tomorrow. The animals have already started to head for shelter. Heh. I bet kagome wishes she would have listened to me.' Inuyasha stated proudly with a smug grin on his face. 'That's what she gets.' chuckling darkly, he caught shippous attention. Shippou stuck his tongue out at the doting hanyou. 'He deserves it.'

"I hope Kagome-chan managed to get home safely. If she stays on the dirt path, she should be able to make it there before it starts to storm." Sango stated, worrying for her friend.

"Dear Sango, I'm sure she's there as we speak." Miroku said, while slipping his hand some where it didn't belong.

"Think of the situation at hand you lecherous fiend!" _SLAP_. Sango gave him a hard a slap and an earful.

"It is not my fault! This cursed hand has a mind of its own!" Miroku defended himself, holding up his hand with his other, pretending to restrain it. This earned an eye roll from the, now angered and slightly embarrassed, slayer.

Setting up the fire was more than easy. There was debris everywhere from the demolished mess of what used to be houses. Grabbing a few pieces, shippou threw them on the fire. 'Kagome would be so proud of me. I hope she's all right.' Shippou loved it when kagome praised him for helping. He would have to tell her how much of a man he was when she got back.

Once everything was set up, inuyasha decided to go the nearest river and catch some dinner. Everybody was starving. They hadn't eaten since kagome left. They were just so used to ramen in the afternoon that they had forgotten to eat.

The fish were plentiful. It looked like they could sense the on coming storm was going to be a bad one, and decided to swim to the part of the river that would get the lesser damage. This made inuyasha worry, much to his discomfort. 'Kagome better not be stopping to sleep for the night. It looks like it's only going to get worse.'

Catching multiple fish by only plunging his hand into the water and grabbing, He made his way back to the group. Getting there, all eyes were on him.

"Wow! That's a lot of fish!" shippou sang happily. This meant that inuyasha wouldn't try to steal his portion since there was so much.

"Inuyasha, where did you get all that fish? There's usual only a few this time of day in the river around here. "Sango eyed the fish, wary. They had always had to fish earlier because all the fish had already migrated to the other side of the river by dinner time. It was unusual.

"They probably thought that that was the safest place to be for the storm. I don't know, but we're going to eat good tonight!" inuyasha was ecstatic. He was going to get to eat tons of his favorite fish. 'Watch out Shippou. This doesn't mean that I still won't take your portion too' inuyasha had a big grin on his face while looking over at the little kit. 'This doesn't look good' shippou gulped.

* * *

It had been another day since the young miko stormed away from the group of travelers. The sun was just about to rise, though you couldn't tell under all the dark grey storm clouds. The Trees started to blow from a fierce wind that came out of know where. The animals had already taken their cover through out the night;They had known a storm was approaching.

Kagome Had just started to waken as the thunder started to sound. Her azure eyes darted open, while her body moved on instinct to a near by bush with her sleeping bag still attached to her slim yet curvy body. She had the strange feeling that someone was, or had been, watching her.

After the shock of getting woken up so suddenly wore off, she examined her situation. The sky was harsh looking; the trees were whipping this way and that, looking more like they were fighting rather than dancing like the previous day. 'Just my luck! I bet Miroku has already swindled his way into another unsuspecting person's home.'

Shaking the though from her mind, she started to quickly gather her things, which was a hassle when the wind decided to blow her belongings all around. Her bag looked to have been torn apart some time through out the night. 'It was probably the animals.' she sighed deeply.

"First the weather and now the animals? What have I ever done to you!" she looked up, shaking an angry fist and glaring at the sky, cursing the kamis.

Once kagome finally got done releasing her anger and picked up all of her important materials, she decided to leave the rest of the things, which consisted of math home work, paper cups, and a charm in the shape of a ramen bowl from one of the bracelets that she had made for her friends.

"Sorry Inuyasha. I'll get you another one" she whispered to herself while she fled.

After running for a few minutes, the rain started to pick up. It was light at first, but then it started to down pour, leaving the tired from running miko soaking wet. Little tiny rivers started to form in the ditches on what used to be dust covered path. Now it was just a muddy mess.

While focusing on the situation at hand, which was Find shelter, Kagome forgot to keep track of her feet and tripped over a tree root that was stuck out of the ground in the middle of the path. Falling, she went tumbling down face first onto the ground, painfully smashing her mouth on a rock. She put her hand over her mouth and went to her feet. Desperate to find shelter, she brushed off the pain that came with her now blood filled mouth and continued her search. Looking around, she peered out into the distance.

'Oh thank Kami!' she had spotted a cave! She did a mental happy dance and made a mad dash to the mountain that housed the cave. When getting there, she had to take a step back. Now looking at it up close, it looked…out of place. Eerie was a good word. The mountain looked more like a bunch of massive rocks were pilled together in a heap. It didn't look too sturdy and had a bad aura, but who was she to be picky? Maybe it wasn't as bad as she thought. Never judge a book by its cover, right? She questioned herself. Was she really going to go in there?

She looked back at her surroundings. The trees were drooping unhappily, not being used to so much water on them. That didn't make the situation any more chipper.

"It's really not _that _high up' She thought to herself. The only thing she could do now was climb. Climb as high as her small body could take her. She saw an edge that jutted out of the rock, grabbing it she started to slowly hoist her wet body up the mountain. Being careful not to slip on the already wet rocks, she slowly made her way upward towards the cave.

Touching the opening was like having a hot bath after months of travel through the country side. Putting her foot where her hand last was, she managed to climb her way up the mountain and at a good time to.

Looking out from the cave, she found the river she was wishing for the night before, except it was gorged with so much water that it had started to over flow, making every thing in its path wash away. Debris was flowing down the huge body of water. Tree branches, wooden wagons, crops, washed all down the river. The turbulence was making the river a light brown color filled with mud and dirt.

Peeling her eyes off the river, she looked to see what she had to work with. It was rather small, but it looked sturdy despite her earlier assumptions. She started to lay her soaked through sleeping bag and supplies out when she noticed a sharp pain in her mouth. Her tongue quickly rushed over to the pained spot and, to her surprise, there was nothing. Practically screaming she rushed to her bag to retrieve her small hand held mirror that was slightly cracked from the fall. "Great!" She shouted. "I lost a tooth! My mom is going to kill me!"

Huffing in annoyance, kagome went to her medical kit that was, thankfully, not too wet and got some gauze to stop the bleeding. 'That should do it' Putting away her medical supplies, she decided to go huddle up in the corner and sleep. 'Stupid inuyasha. If you weren't such a jerk, this would have never happened! You owe me a new tooth!' While silently cursing inuyasha, she drifted into a light sleep.

* * *

**Nothing ever goes Kagome's way. That's okay. She'll be getting a surprise soon! Muahahahahah!** **  
**

**~AiOtaku**


	3. A Temporary Hero

The birds were out and about, relieved that the storm was over. The sun had come up over the intimidating clouds, washing away all that was left, turning the sky a radiant blue. The animals had come out of hiding and were building new homes out of what was left of the trees, arguing over what little supplies were left.

"Ahh, why do the birds have to be so loud?" Kagome eased out of her scrunched up position and rolled over onto her back, putting her hands over her ears. They were particularly loud to someone who was sleeping.

"So early in the morning? Couldn't you guys have waited a few hours?" Kagome slowly sat up and crawled out to the mouth of the cave, getting a full view of the outside. The river had gone back to normal, making it seem tiny compared to before. There were trees laying all about the ground, along with a bunch of human made materials. There were Clay pots and cloth used for, what kagome guessed, clothes and blankets, littering the ground. The dirt path was now a muddy slide. 'Shippou would have had fun sliding on that .'Kagome, not totally disliking the idea but imagining the mess, stopped her thoughts. They were putting a damper on her happy mood.

Kagome was worried for her friends. Had they found shelter? Did they eat dinner? 'I'm starting to sound like their caretaker.' With that, kagome rolled up her surprisingly dry sleeping bag. She looked over at her other supplies and examined them. 'They're all dry? That's weird. They were soaking last night...' Brushing it off as an apology girt from the kamis she put all of her belongings into her caked with dried mud bag. Her stomach growled and she decided it was probably a good time to leave. The problem was, how would she get down? Kagome looked over the edge of the cliff and quickly staggered back. 'Was it always that high? What have I gotten myself into?!'

What looked like to only be fifteen feet yesterday, turned out to be at least a hundred feet. She was so high up, not to mention she wasn't too fond of high places… 'I bet inuyasha could just jump right off here like it was nothing. I could just see his face now. Overconfident jerk.'

While kagome debated what to do, a cloud of dust came hurling towards the cave opening with two slower runners trying their best to catch up.

"KOUGA!" Kagome shouted while waving her arms back and fourth, almost making herself tumble forward in her excitement. 'That wouldn't of been good.' The ground didn't look so pleasant at the moment.

The wolf prince then went for a near by rock, using it for a spring board, and hopped into the caves mouth. He was obviously trying to show off, because he missed the cave, went for the rock above, kicking off and landing right on the edge of the cave. 'Leave it to kouga.' kagome thought sarcastically.

"Hello Kagome. How's my woman doing this fine afternoon? "He said smugly, while going to the back of the cave and sitting cross legged in the corner, getting comfortable.

"Afternoon? It's not the morning?" kagome asked dismissing the 'my woman' comment. She would let it slide for today. He _was _her savior. She tried not to roll her eyes.

"Nope, not the morning, but what is such a lovely girl doing up in such a scary cave? And where's mutt face? Too much of a coward to face an amazing wolf demon?" Kouga was trying to seem curious, but it was really hard considering kagome's new attire. He hadn't seen kagome in a long time and he had missed her extravagant wardrobe change. He liked it a little too much. It made her shine with radiance, not that she hadn't before. He looked kagome in the eyes and waited for her explanation.

"Since inuyasha was being such an idiot, I decided to go back to my…_home_ for a while, but then the storm set in. I was forced to seek shelter and this was all I could find." Kouga still didn't know that she was from the future and she preferred to keep it that way.

"Yep, that's inubaka for ya. You mean the storm a few days ago? It was pretty bad. Flooded our den for a few hours. Did you climb all the way up here? I'm impressed." Kouga was trying to change the subject. He didn't want to talk about all the supplies and food the flood had carried away when it finally decided to leave.

Kagome's face suddenly fell. A few days ago? What was he talking about?

The birds were as loud as ever out side. Ginta had finally got to the foot of the mountain, while Hakkaku was left behind when he stopped to catch his breath.

"What do you mean a few days ago?! I just got here yesterday!" kagome was unconsciously yelling. It didn't feel like _that_ long of a sleep! It felt like she had only been out a few hours!

"Whoa, kagome, calm down. There was a big storm about two days ago. I was on my way to the mountain pass because I caught Narakus sent, but then it changed direction leading to here. You haven't happened to see Naraku creeping around anywhere have you?" Kouga was getting worried. Why was narakus sent all over the place? It was like he touched everything in the small cave. He didn't like Naraku being so close to his woman. His face scrunched up at the thought.

"Naraku? That's weird. I would have usually sensed his jewel shards by now." Kagome was starting to get the same feeling of being watched just like the other day. She had just started to remember some sort of a dream as Ginta flopped onto his belly after the long climb up. Still panting, he dragged himself over next to kouga. He was exhausted. Sweat was dripping down his tomato red face. 'Once Kouga picks up kagome's sent, you cant stop him' Ginta thought while he started to get as comfortable as he could on the refreshing cold cave floor.

"Hey sis, you wouldn't happen to have some water would ya?" kagome, feeling bad for Ginta, started looking for the water she knew didn't exist.

"I'm sorry Ginta. I'm afraid I'm all out."Kagome felt even worse when he slightly sighed and put his head on his arms to continue resting, obviously disappointed.

"Kouga, maybe we should go find some food and water. It seems I've been out for a while, so it's probably time for me to eat." Kagome didn't miss the way Ginta's pointed years perked when she mentioned the word water.

"Alright Kagome. Are you going to need a lift down?" kouga stretched his muscular arms out, waiting for kagome's answer.

"Yes please" Kouga picked up kagome bridal style, causing her to blush a little. Who wouldn't. Kouga had such handsome sky blue eyes, smooth, silky ebony hair, and sun kissed skin that made you shiver under it's touch.

Right as Kouga was about to take a step of the cliff, Hakkaku's hand shot up and gripped the edge, his body following after.

"F-finally! G-Ginta, I m-made it!" Hakkaku said between gasps. Clutching his knees, he looked up to find Kouga staring at him. Hakkaku quickly moved out of the way.

"Hakkaku, Ginta, We're going to find food and water. You will stay here and keep watch for Naraku. I smell his sent all over this place. Haller if you need me." With that, kouga took a step off the mountain and landed gracefully on the ground a few seconds later.

"I saw a river a little ways away from the top of the cave. Do you think the water's clean enough to drink?" Kagome remembered that after a big tsunami hit her home town, the rivers weren't clean enough to drink from due to all the man made chemicals that were picked up with the wave.

"It should be fine. We could boil it if anything, right?" Kouga reassured kagome as he sprinted with inhuman speed toward the river.

What would of taken kagome an hours worth of travel only took the wolf demon a few minutes. Kagome was surprised they got there so fast. She didn't know kouga was _that_ fast. No wonder Ginta and Hakkaku always have a hard time keeping up.

"You know with that speed, you'd be famous in my ti-_village_. Though you might be disqualified from the races for using extra boosts." Almost giving away her secret, she covered her slip up. 'That was close kagome. You need to be more mindful of who you're talking to.' The miko thought, mentally scolding herself.

"You mean the jewel shards? I could run laps around humans even without them." Kouga confessed with a smug look on his face. 'What's this? Is kagome taking an interest in me? I knew she would before long.'

Once kouga set kagome down, she got out her pan and asked him to build a fire. She was going to boil the water just to be safe. Sure there were no chemicals in the feudal era, but she didn't want to take the risk of actually getting sick with one of the crazy things her Grandfather told everyone she had.

Walking to the waters edge, she Got on her knees and looked at her reflection. She was horrified! And Kouga had even said she was lovely! Were his eyes broken? Mentally screaming at her horrid mud smothered face and rats nest hair, she dipped the pot into the river and filled it with water. Getting up, she spotted kouga had already got the fire going along with some fish for everyone to eat.

"GINTA, HAKKAKU, FOOD!" Kagome screamed after she had cooked the fish and boiled the water.

Ginta basically flew out of the cave, running , with Hakkaku following after slowly. Kouga laughed at his 'brothers 'when Hakkaku, seeing the fish, ran Ginta down. Ginta huffed and quickly got up, ignoring the dust all over his face and clothes.

After a few hours, the day had started to cool down, leaving kagome feeling antsy. What if inuyasha went looking for her, couldn't find her and went to her time only to tell her mother and heart attack prone grandfather what they didn't want to hear, worrying them even more than they probably already were? Getting up off the hard ground, kagome took her pot from the dying fire, taking it to the river so she could dip it in cold water to be cooled enough to go into her bag.

"Kouga, I was supposed to be going back to my house, but then the storm came. My mother is probably really worried, so I'm going to get going. Thank you for your heroic rescue from the cave. See you!" before kagome could go even three feet, kouga had stopped her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Are you crazy kagome? Its almost dark and you expect me to let you wander off on your own? Naraku is out here, I'm not going to leave you unprotected."

"Kouga, I'm 17 years old. I think I can take care of myself. Kaede helped me sharpen up my bow skills for a while, so its not like I'm unprotected." Who does he think she is? He was basically calling her weak! Well...some company couldn't hurt and with kouga there she could travel through the night but…

"But kagome!" Kouga protested. There's no way he was leaving her tonight, not after she just took an interest in him.

"Alright, kouga, but you can only take me as far as kaedes village, got it?" He didn't need to get any closer to the bone eaters well.

Satisfied, kouga called Ginta and Hakkaku, who came running from the campsite.

"We're walking kagome to her village, so lets try not to slow her down." Uh-oh. That meant that kouga was going to carry kagome all the way there. They were never going to be able to keep up! Their faces turned pale at the most unfortunate news.

Kouga turned to kagome and swept her into his buff arms bridal style like the hour before. Much to his amusement, the stubborn miko started to throw a fit stating, "I will get motion sickness if I am carried the whole way there like this. I have two legs that aren't broken; I can walk there on my own you know!"

Rolling his eyes, Kouga moved kagome onto his toned back. 'It's funny how he thinks he got away with carrying me. If I wasn't in such a hurry, it would have gone a different way. You just wait till I get back kouga." Kagome continued to imagine her revenge, wishing she could sit him like inuyasha.

* * *

**I like Kouga a little too much and just had to fit him into the story somehow. Not to worry, Sesshoumaru will be making his way into the story whether he likes it or not ;)**

**I'm having a lot of fun writing this story and I hope you're having just as much fun reading it! A big thank you to LoveInTheBattleField and BallerinaG for being the first people to review my first story!  
**

**~AiOtaku  
**


	4. Mountain of the East

The small girls chocolate brown eyes shine with innocence, while her big toothy grin is laced with happiness. The lonesome pony tail, sitting lopsided atop her tiny head, bounces around with each step she takes. Sitting in a never-ending field filled with beautiful flowers of all colors, she picks the defenseless plants, taking them for her own hand made crowns. Her orange checkered kimono blends in with the colorful field, making her look like she was part of the scenery. She hums a song that she had learned in her old village, not letting the horrid memories of what happened there pollute her adolescent mind.

Sesshoumaru looked over to the preoccupied girl, observing her carefree attitude. He was sitting under a medium sized sakura tree that was welcoming the new season; Fall. There were petals floating down all around him, each one hitting the ground soundlessly, only adding to the piles of light pink petals already littering the ground from the row of shedding trees. He put his head back against the rough bark of the tree, closed his eyes, and held back a sigh. He let his mind wander about, bringing back unnecessary thoughts about his father. His nose crinkled and he slowly opened his liquid gold eyes. Gracefully, he got to his feet, glanced into the distance, and made his way across the large field toward the thick forest opening. A slight breeze was ever so slightly moving his snow colored hair, catching jakens attention.

"Me Lord! If I could so humbly ask, where are you going?" Jaken scurried to his lord's side, curious as to where he could be going this time. They had just come from a visit to the western lands, where could he be going so soon?

"Jaken, take care of Rin in this Sesshoumaru's absence." The look Sesshoumaru shot at the ill-green imp sent chills through his already cold-blooded body. That look could only mean one thing; Naraku had decided to unmask his scent, revealing his whereabouts. Naraku, the evil hanyou who thinks he can do as he pleases while getting into the way of the lord of the west without consequences. Not only that, he used lord sesshoumaru to get back at his idiot of a half brother. For that, he would not forgive.

"Lord Sesshomaru?! It is that vial Naraku again is it not!" Jaken yelled after the retreating daiyoukai, causing Rin to realize that he was leaving again. Saddened knowing that she couldn't do anything, the simple minded girl went back to making crowns for her youkai friends.

The lord made his way through the forest opening, ignoring whatever nonsense the imp was spewing. _His _scent was moving every where, flowing with the slight breeze like a poisonous snake, attacking Sesshomaru's sensitive nose with every movement. The last time he had caught Narakus scent was when he was traveling to the western lands to visit his mother, so that they could escape the storm that was approaching. It had looked like it was going to be a destructive one and Sesshomaru didn't want to have to deal with trying to find shelter. It was unnecessary.

_They had been by the mountain pass, Sesshomaru on his cloud and his other followers sitting atop ah-un, when he started to notice Narakus scent in the air. He was going to get a closer look, when he saw his half brothers wench walking down below, mumbling something unimportant to herself about the weather. Moving along, he stopped to realize that the scent seemed to be coming from the miko's unusual yellow bag! He decided that he would leave the situation alone for now, knowing that wherever the wench was, his pathetic half-brother must not be far behind. _

'He seems to be on the move again, heading into the direction of Biwa Lake.' Sesshomaru had finally pin pointed his location; he wasn't going to get away this time. Nobody could escape the great lord of the west, especially a weak hanyou.

Sesshomaru summoned his demon cloud, lifting himself into the air, and started to go towards the unfortunate destination, knowing he was going to find who he was looking for. A ghost of a grin crept its way onto his face. 'I have got you now, _Naraku_.'

* * *

"Inuyasha, could we please stop? I'm tired! We've been walking for hours!" The little kit whined to the stubborn hanyou, hoping he would finally give into his request if he asked just one more time. He didn't think his feet could take much more.

"Will you pipe down Shippou? You asked me that twenty times, the answer is still no. Ya got that?" Inuyasha was stretching his arms into the air and clasped his hands together on the back of his head. The top of his read hakama was tied around his waist as he often saw kagome doing with her coats. The sun was out and it wasn't giving mercy. Rays of sun light beat down at the group causing them to lose energy faster. Everyone was sweating and exhausted.

"Inuyasha, perhaps we should stop and rest. Shippou is not the only one who is tired. We have been walking all over this mountain and still have not found the shard Lady Kagome was talking about."Miroku had had enough of going in circles. They were not getting anywhere with Inuyasha being such an imbecile.

"Maybe if Inuyasha wasn't such an idiot, Kagome would still be here right now. She would have let us stop and rest, and even made us dinner." The kit pouted, glaring at Inuyasha with all his might.

"How is this my fault? I have no control over where or when that girl decides to abandon us for her _school_."Inuyasha laced venom into his words. How dare she storm off and leave them to search for the jewel shard by themselves! She knew that they couldn't find them with out her! Some jewel detector she turned out to be. Inuyasha crossed his arms and huffed.

"Inuyasha, if you would have realized that in the first place, Kagome-chan might not have stormed off like she did. You need to learn to listen to peoples suggestions, instead of ignoring what everybody has to say."The demon slayer was furious. After they had left her village, Inuyasha still wanted to go in search of the jewel shard that was in the mountain. Sango didn't think it was a good idea, but being inuyasha, he insisted, saying '"No, we're going to go this way, because if we didn't, Kagome would have stormed off for nothing. Might as well honor her selfish decision"'

It had been days since the group last saw their friend. Inuyasha was dragging everyone on a wild goose chase up and down the mountain. There had been one time where Inuyasha thought he saw something. Crouching in a defensive position, claws ready, a wild boar ran out from the camouflaging bushes right toward Inuyasha, knocking him over in its rage. At least they had a good meal that night, leaving leftovers that would last them for a few days.

"Alright, I guess we could stop for today, but don't think that you're going to sleep late into the day. We need to get moving as soon as possible."

"Do we ever sleep very late? Since coming to this cursed mountain, we've been getting up earlier than-"

Miroku stopped his sentence and looked in fear as to what was coming out of the mountains trees. A large Demon slowly emerged out to the clearing where the group was located. It had wings of glistening obsidian coming out of its broad shoulders, jutting out almost unevenly. It had one blazing emerald green eye, its other shining silver; though you could barley tell due to its pupils being dilated to the size of two large marbles. The body was that of a human, but instead of feet were talons housing razor sharp claws, threatening to take your head at any chance they got. Feathers draped over its large body, charcoal in color. Its facial proportions were messed up and out of place, the eyes being big and round, nose long and beak like, while the mouth was small holding many tiny needle-like teeth.

"Oh, what do we have here? Who dare disturbs my mountain?! I am known as Tamashii, the Great Tengu, and protector of this great mountain of the east. Have you come here to destroy the peace that I have built up for centuries? For that, I cannot forgive you!" Before the group could utter a word, The Tengu waved his sickeningly beautiful wings up and down, creating a forceful wind to swarm all around him acting as a shield.

Sango ripped her hiraikotsu off her shoulder, while running at full speed towards the demon, releasing the weapon at full force, hoping to stall the powerful tengu while she warned the group about the demon they were facing. 'The tengu demons are protectors of the mountains and forests. They are usually gentle creatures, welcoming any and all who happen venture onto their lands. Though, they usually stay hidden no matter the circumstance as they tend to shy away from humans. There is something not right about this one. Tengus are usually a deep shade of sapphire or maroon. I've never seen one of this color. '

Sango was torn away from her thoughts as her very own weapon was being shot back at her. The Tengus barrier had swallowed it whole only to be spit back out and forced back to its owner. Kirara jumped into the air, transforming into her full demon form, and flew towards Sango to save her from getting injured. Sango latched onto Kirara and quickly swung her body on top of the two tailed demons fluffy back, barely dodging the flying hiraikotsu.

"Inuyasha, you have to be careful! If you use the windscar, it will be swallowed by the wind and be thrown back at you twice as hard!" The demon slayer shouted at her friend from a hill that Kirara had placed her on out of the way of danger.

Inuyasha huffed, his hands forming into balls at his side. If he couldn't use the tetsusaiga, how was he going to defeat the damn thing? With his fists? 'No, the barrier is too strong-'

"Inuyasha, we need to somehow break the barrier!" Miroku yelled, finishing inuyashas thought. If they broke the barrier, they could get close enough to stun the tengu and have a chance to calm down the beast. 'He might have information about the jewel shard.'

Seeing that nobody was attacking and not paying attention, he used his giant bird like feet to pound of the ground, lifting himself into the air. With his giant wings creating even more wind to keep his huge body in the air, the trees whipped this way and that, making the animals run in the opposite direction of the clearing. Going up high over the trees, he locked his target on the young half demon in red. Swooping down, shield still intact, he made a dive toward his target and stared to spin at an incredible speed.

Inuyasha looked at the last second and was rendered too late to be able to dodge the attack. The hanyou quickly pulled the tetsusaiga from its sheath, pointing it upwards toward his pursuer. 'If I'm going out, I'm taking this bastard with me.'

The bird like predator smashed into his prey, causing a small explosion of dirt and debris to fly everywhere around them. The group waited in horror for the dust cloud to disperse with wide eyes. That was a fierce attack, the sound of the crash hurting even their insensitive human ears. All the animals were gone, making the clearing eerily quiet.

The dirt cloud cleared slowly, making the anticipation increase. Inuyasha was no where to been seen under the heap of bird that was in the newly formed crater. The Tengus harsh barrier was no longer intact, due to its wing being pierced through by the tetsusaiga. Blood surrounded the area, crimson droplets still spilling on the dirt. The warm liquid dripping from the horrid wound slid slowly down the blade of the weapon, turning it into a bloodied mess.

A hand shot out from under the injured demon, gripping the hilt of the mess of a sword. Another followed after, along with the rest of what looked like a body. A very broken Inuyasha started to drag himself away from the tengu, toward his friends, pulling out the tetsusaiga in the process, blood trailing behind.

"INUYASHA!" The group screamed at once, rushing to his side. Shippou was too shocked to move, silent tears slowly slid down his face without notice. Miroku bent down to his friend to get a closer look at the damage. He looked terrible, disgusting really. His body was caked with a mixture of blood, mud, and feathers. His right leg turned the wrong direction, while his other was being dragged along with the rest of his body. The explosion had hurt his sensitive ears, blood pouring from each one, dripping on his once silver hair. Now it was just a dirtied ruby red with all of the beautiful silver barley visible.

"What are we going to do? Kagome is in her time and there is no village for miles around." Sango tired not to stare at the battered and broken hanyou. It was painful to see her friend in so much pain, even if it was inuyasha. 'Not even he deserved this.'

"I'm not sure. He is a half demon so he should heal much faster than a human, but these wounds are so great…If we don't get help soon-"

"What are you guys sayin'? I'll heal-" Inuyasha spit out between breaths of pain. Every time he took a breath, a shooting pain wound all through his body, making him unable to move.

"I-inuyasha, a-are you g-going to be okay?" Shippou asked through tears. The small youkai moved toward his friend. He went to his knees and put his hands on his lap, sitting respectfully by inuyasha's side.

"I p-promise to g-give you some of my c-candy from now, so please-" the kits tiny hands went up to his eyes, attempting to wipe away the tears that kept flowing. Inuyasha put his hand by the kits head and knocked into it with his fist, earning a shocked yelp from the young fox youkai.

"Don't cry shippou. Men don't cry." inuyasha dropped his hand onto his chest and winced at the contact.

While the group was preoccupied with their injured friend, they failed to notice the rustling of the trees in the background.

"Kirara can carry inuyasha to the nearest village. It will take a few hours to travel there, but it is better than sitting here, watching him bleed to death." Sango called Kirara over to where inuyasha was resting. Miroku and Sango carefully lifted his broken body onto kiraras back and sent them off into the direction of a village that they had passed quite a few miles back.

"M-Miroku... W-where did the demon go?" Shippou asked horrified, pointing at the now empty crater and shaking violently from fear. The demon was missing! It was hurt too! Where could it have gone?' I hope it didn't go after Kirara.' Shippou gulped.

Miroku was taken back. He was about to say something, when he noticed a bigger blood trail in the opposite direction leading beyond the trees.

"Sango, you take shippou and start walking in the direction of the village. I am going to go see what this demon is up too."

"But Miroku! You saw what that thing did to inuyasha!" sangos hands shot up into the air, displaying her disapproval.

"Ahh, sweet Sango. Are you worried about me? Will you miss me so? Do not fret for I will be fine. Go make sure that our dear friend gets the help he needs." Miroku eyed the demon slayer in a way that mad her blush from embarrassment.

"You…Fine. Be careful!" Sango waved good bye to the lecherous monk and started into the direction towards Inuyasha, shippou tucked tightly into her arms.

Waiting for the rest of the group to leave, Miroku was wary, watching the scene around him. 'The Tengus wing was greatly injured along with some of his body. He should not be able to make it that far.' The monk slowly made his way to the blood trail, hesitating to venture beyond the forests thick foliage. 'Ah, what have I gotten myself into?' He thought as he slowly disappeared from the clearing into the awaiting darkness.

* * *

**Poor inuyasha! I have so many ideas for the story that it's hard to organize them all and put them into chapters, but I'm trying my best! Fighting! Thank you for reading this far! **

**~AiOtaku**


	5. Kaede's Village

"Hey Kouga, where's Ginta and Hakkaku? Weren't they behind us a few minutes ago? " Kagome asked curiously, rubbing her tired eyes.

They had been running for about a day or so and were getting close to the village. Kagome was dead tired and she wasn't even doing anything! In fact, she had just woken up from a pleasant nap on kouga's back. Despite it being muscular, it was very comfortable. The furs on his shoulders were soft and warm, making it a nice place to catch up on some sleep. Ginta and Hakkaku must be exhausted. She began looking around for the two brothers worried that they had dropped somewhere due to exhaustion.

"While you were sleeping I told them to go check out the area and get some rest. They looked like they were about to keel over" Kouga winced. He felt bad about not stopping to rest. Before they ran into kagome, they had been searching for Naraku non-stop. The only time they stopped to replenish there energy was when they met up with kagome. Even demons need rest every now and then.

"Hey kagome, we're almost to the village. Where do you want me to put you down?"

"Hmm…You can go ahead and drop me over there" Kagome pointed over to the pathways by the rice fields. She was relived to see the opening of the village. She was that much closer to home. She couldn't wait to see her friends and maybe even go to school. Hell, she even missed hojo a little bit! 'Inuyasha is going to have to wait for a little longer because this girl deserves a much needed vacation.'

Kouga sped over to where the young miko wanted and she slid off his back after he let go of her legs. Unexpectedly, her leg got caught on his pelt and her back smacked the ground with a hard thud, leaving her legs sticking up into the air. Kagome huffed and sat up while rubbing her head. She had managed to hit her head in the process. 'How embarrassing! Leave it to me to be so clumsy. ' Kagome sighed.

"Kouga, are you alri-"Kagome stopped mid sentence to take in the scene in front of her eyes. When her leg had caught onto kougas clothing, it had ripped them and took them down with her. The pelt on his lower half was gone leaving him completely exposed! Kagome got up and turned around, blushing furiously.

"Kouga, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" Kagome bowed to the wolf demon apologetically while still facing the other way. 'Thank kami no one is around!'

Kouga was confused. He was letting kagome off his back and before he knew it she slipped. He moved to catch her, but her leg had caught on his pelt and it ripped. It was really old and worn out, making it fall apart at the hard tug. She had managed to pull it past his thighs and almost to his knees, it was still being held together by a little strip that hadn't broken yet.

Kouga didn't know why kagome was so embarrassed. She was his woman after all and when she became his mate, seeing him like this would be a regular thing. 'That's a good quality to her though, Innocent and cute.'Kouga lifted up his pelt and held it together around his waist after the little piece broke in half as he was pulling it up.

"Kagome, you can turn around now."

"Are you sure? You're all covered up?" Kagome had to make sure. She didn't want anymore surprises.

"Yeah, I'm all covered."Kouga thought about leaving it open to tease her, but he decided against it. He didn't want to push little kagome too far.

Kagome turned around slowly and faced the wolf demon. She still hadn't opened up her eyes. How could she look at him now that she had seen _all _of him?! 'Okay kagome, just open your eyes and pretend like you saw nothing. One… Two… Three!'

Kagome's eyes shot open and blinked a few times. She looked at his pelt and felt horrible. There was a big rip in the side and he had to hold it together for it to stay closed.

"Umm, Kouga, maybe you should come to kaedes hut and we'll see if she can fix your pelt for you." Kagome got to her knees and dusted her clothes off.

Kagome tugged Kouga along the pathways and through the village, earning stares all the way there. The village was used to seeing demons by now, but it was still odd to see kagome there with someone other than inuyasha and the group.

Kagome stopped in front of her friend's house and waited for kaede to ask them in. kagome knew that she would know that they were there. Kaede was old, but she was also a miko and could sense the presence of a demon and the shikon no tama at least a little bit.

"Come in child" kaede whispered in a raspy voice. Kagome tugged on kougas arm gesturing him to follow her. They both went into the hut and sat down in front of the fire pit. Kouga was curious of the old lady who was kagome's friend. 'Is this her home?' Kouga thought to himself as he looked around.

"Ah, Kagome, what brings ye here? Where be inuyasha and the rest of ye? And who is this fine young lad?" Kaede asked as she prepared the tea for her two guests.

"This is my friend Kouga, leader of the wolf demon tribe. I met him a few years ago after Sango started to travel with us. As for inuyasha…it's a long story. Oh, Kouga, this is Kaede. She's the village healer and miko." Kagome thought it would be best to introduce them to each other before she started the whole story.

"Nice to meet ye Kouga of the wolf tribe." Kaede handed the tea to her guests.

"Old lady Kaede, does kagome live here with you?" Kouga couldn't hold it in. He had to ask before kagome got into telling her story. If kagome lived here, then where did inuyasha stay? 'That mutt face better not be living with my kagome.' Kouga would make sure to give the hanyou a talking to when he saw him next. He couldn't wait.

Kagome looked at kaede to see what she would say. Hopefully she wouldn't give away anything about where her home was located. Kagome put her hands up and silently pleaded without gaining kougas attention.

"Ay, she lives with me here in the village when she is not out traveling with her companions. She helps me gather herbs and I help train her spiritual powers." Kaedes eyes looked at kagome while her head was pointed towards Kouga. She had noticed that kagome had not told her friend about her home and decided that it would be a safe alternative. Kagome was relieved that kaede had agreed to help her.

"Child, I have a feeling ye were going to tell me why ye are with kouga and not inuyasha. You can go ahead and explain."

Kagome went over the whole situation with kaede and Kouga. She had to alter the story a bit because kouga was there. She told them how inuyasha was being a jerk not letting her come and see Kaede to help train her miko powers and how he said her miko trainings were not important, How the storm had made her loose a tooth and forced her into the cave, How Kouga rescued her, and how she ripped his clothes in the process of coming here. Kaede was not shocked. Inuyasha was a brut and nobody could change that.

"So Kouga, ye need me to fix the cloth around ye waist? Give me it, I'll be happy to. Here is a piece of cloth that ye can put there until the job is complete." Kouga gave the wise priestess his pelt and took the piece of cloth. Kagome made sure to cover her eyes when they made the exchange. Kaede went into her room separated by a blanket that was hanging from the ceiling.

Kouga got up and slipped the piece of cloth over his head and down to his waist. When kagome finally opened her eyes and look at Kouga she doubled over in laughter. The cloth that kaede had given the wolf demon was a skirt with a delicate flower pattern sewn on. It clashed with kougas manly personality.

Kouga wasn't pleased, but he dealt with it because kaede was doing him a favor.

Kagome went into kaedes work area to see the progress.

"Kaede, I have to go home and get more supplies. Could you please tell Kouga that I have to go and run some errands for you? "Kagome needed a good distraction. It looked like it was going to take kaede a while to sew everything back together.

"Ay, I could tell him. It was nice to see you child, be safe. There are a lot of demons running around here lately, be careful." KAgome gave the wise miko a quick hug and went back into the other room.

"Kouga, I have to go and pick some herbs for kaede. I won't be back for a while so when your clothes are finished being sewed you can go find Ginta and Hakkaku to head home." Kagome grabbed her bag and a basket for props as she headed out the door. Kouga followed after her and stepped outside.

"Kagome, you don't think you'll need my help?"

"Well that's a nice thought Kouga, but I don't think you would be much help if you got stolen by a bandit because you were mistaken for a girl." Kagome teased. Kouga looked down at his new attire and then around the village. All the people were staring and whispering to them selves while sometimes pointing at the unusual guest. Kouga blushed and went back inside the hut. He didn't want Ginta and Hakkaku to see him like this, it would ruin his image.

"See you later then, kagome" Kouga shouted out the door.

"See you!" kagome was thrilled that her plan worked. She set down the basket at the end of the village and started toward the bone eaters well.

* * *

"Rin, we are leaving!" Jaken shouted over to the sleeping girl. Sesshomaru still hadn't got back from his trip to find Naraku and Jaken was tired of looking at flowers. He needed a change of scenery. The small girl opened her chocolate brown eyes and yawned. She sat up tiredly and stretched her tiny arms. Ah-un moved from behind the girl and Rin fell backwards. She laughed at the sudden loss of her pillow and patted ah-un while she got up.

"Where are we going today master Jaken?" Rin was running around in circles with her arms out at her sides, being her cheery self. Ah was eating the flower crown that was on top of Un's head that Rin had made him the previous day or so.

"Calm down human, we are going to go find some water." Jaken huffed. He was getting annoyed with the little human girl. He was _always_ annoyed with her. She flailed about like a rabid monkey half the time. It was either they had to stop and eat, or stop and rest, or stop and play. She just held lord Sesshomaru back. 'I don't know why he keeps her around. Stupid human girl, you're lucky that Sesshomaru lets you stay with us. '

Jaken called Ah-un and started walking toward a random direction in search of water. Rin was skipping about next to Ah-un while chattering about rin's favorite this or rin's favorite that. Jaken paid no attention to her and just kept walking.

Off to the side, Jaken caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Jaken looked that way and stopped. He walked closer to the location and saw nothing. While going to turn around, a force smashed against jakens head and made him slam into a near by tree, cracking some of the bark. Rin screamed at the top of her lungs and ran forward. She came into a clearing with a huge tree and what looked like a big wooden box. Ah-un ran after the girl and stood in front of her.

Out of the trees came a huge ogre demon. Its skin was blackish- brown and its body was huge. It had black beady eyes and a huge tooth filled mouth. It was clothed in pieces of clothing that seemed to be sewn together. There was kimono cloth and other types of clothing all sew together creating a huge blanket that was held by cloth over its shoulder. Its weapon was a huge tree lump that looked like it weighed a ton. The ogre looked at Rin and grinned an evil grin that displayed all of its pointed teeth. It licked its lips and stared waking toward its prey.

With each step the demon took the ground would shake and the closer he got, the harder it was to stand up. Tears were streaming down Rins face as she held onto Ah-un for support. The shaking knocked her down to her knees. Un took hold of rin's kimono and lifted her onto his back while ah charged his energy and shot an amazing ball of blue lightening at the ogre demon while flying away.

The demon screamed in agony at the sudden shock that traveled through his huge body and fell to one knee. He took his weapon and pounded it on the ground repeatedly. When he noticed that the girl was gone he screamed into the sky. He took his pointed tree lump and flung it in the air towards the retreating group. The tree knocked into two of ah-uns legs and sent him spiraling down. He hit the ground while Rin bounced off his back. Ah moved Rin out of the way as the tree came down from the sky and almost smashed her to death. Rin was battered and bruised; ah-un was broken and confused. Before Rin did anything else, she found her voice and let out a blood curdling scream.

The last thing Rin saw was the ogre coming toward her. She tried to stay awake but the darkness was taking over. Rin drifted into a silent sleep and dreamt about her life with Sesshomaru. She dreamt about their first meeting and she dreamt about all the fun she had with Jaken and ah-un. She was happy with her life and wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

* * *

**Oh no! What's going to happen?! I'm so sorry I didn't post this sooner! I was at my dads house for a couple of weeks and he lives in the country where there's unfortunately no internet. I hope you guys like this story! Thank you so much for reading it! **

**~AiOtaku**


	6. An Angelic Being

"Ah, Mom's going to be so excited to see me! I bet she's going to make my favorite dinner. It's going to taste so delicious!" Kagome was thrilled about going back to her time. She couldn't wait to see her family's face when she walked through the door. 'Grandpa will be working outside so he will be the one to see me first. Souta will be playing video games inside on couch and mom will be pestering him to go outside and do something productive.' She kept going over the situation in her head, smiling to herself at the relieved expressions that she knew would be on their faces.

Kagome's fantasies stopped as she started to pick up on some jewel fragments near by. 'I sense jewel shards. It seems like there's two…I hope Kouga isn't following me!' Kagome stopped and looked behind her to see if she could spot the owner of the disturbance. She couldn't find any traces of the wolf demon, but decided to take a different path just to make sure. 'That should throw you off you nosy wolf!'

Kagome walked for another fifteen minutes until she saw an opening to a clearing. Stepping through the trees she couldn't believe her eyes. She saw flowers decorating everywhere see looked. The field was a rainbow of colors, touching until her eyes couldn't make out. It was breathtaking. Multi-colored butterflies littered the field, sitting atop every other flower, some resting and some playing a fun game of tag. The sky was an unseasonal blue, warming you to the core. The fields had a peaceful aura, making kagome calm down and appreciate the spectacular view. 'How could I have always passed by this?'

The miko stepped further into the field and bent over onto the ground. She sat her backpack and weapon down beside her as she spotted a diamond in the ruff. Tears filled her eyes as she found her favorite flower in the sea of wondrous beauty. She picked the amaryllis flower and turned it around in her fingers gingerly, careful not to break the delicate beauty. While she was looking at the flower, she noticed that there was a crown made up of different colored flowers lying upon the ground. It didn't have a pattern and was some what dull, but it was beautiful. You could feel the sincerity the person had while making it.

"Kyaaaa!" Kagome's head snapped up and she dropped the blood red flower onto the ground. She bolted in the direction of the scream, almost tripping over her feet in her haste. When kagome got to the path, she laid eyes upon an unsightly scene.

Rin was running for her life towards the direction of the bones eaters well with her dragon friend along side her. A huge ogre demon was swinging his big mallet of a weapon around furiously in the air, aiming for the little girl as he ran.

"Rin…" a broken voice crocked from the trees.

"Jaken, is that you? Are you alright?!" Kagome ran over to the little green imp and rolled him over to his back. She held on to his hand to comfort him and evaluate the level of damage he had taken at the same time.

"What a Terrible head wound!" But that wasn't the only one there. Jakens left eye was hanging out of its socket, threatening to drop off the cord of nerves at any sudden movement. While reaching in her bag, she dug around for her medical supplies only to find a lone gauze pack present and nothing else of value. 'I left the first aid kit back at kaedes village! How could I have been so stupid?!' Kagome was not happy with herself. This was a life or death situation and she only had gauze?! She couldn't even apply it with out some medical tape!

"Save…Rin…" Jaken was using the last of his energy to speak to the angelic being that was beside him. Rin was in danger and Lord Sesshoumaru would have his head if he let his ward die. He knew that this wound wouldn't be enough to kill him, but he was lucky that the ogre didn't finish him off in some ungodly way.

A blue light lit the air making the weather go dark and the wildlife fall silent. Kagome poured the contents of her bag onto the hard ground. Grabbing her sleeping bag, she ripped off the strings that kept it rolled up neatly and started to fasten the gauze to jakens injuries making a mediocre head wrap and eye patch. After applying the only medical supplies she had, she dragged Jaken to the stump of the tree and sat him up right. He didn't appreciate the sudden movement and started swinging his hand around to ward off the disturbance.

"I'm going to go see if Rin and Ah-un are okay, you stay here and don't move." Kagome pulled her bow and arrows onto her back and ran toward the clearing, leaving her bag with Jaken just in case he would need anything.

"GYAAAAAA!" Rin managed to scream her last bit of breath as she saw the ogre demon closing in on her. Kagome slipped her bow and arrows off her back and got into position. 'Good thing I decided to bring these with me.'

She took her bow and loaded her ammo as she pointed it at the huge demon, making sure to aim towards the two jewel shards embedded in its right shoulder. She charged the arrow with a magnificent amount of power and set it ablaze with colors of powder pink and cerise. She let go of the specially engraved arrow that she had gotten from Sango on her last birthday and sent it hurling in the direction of the ogre.

The demon had its deadly weapon high into the air ready to smash its lunch when the arrow shot completely through its shoulder, disintegrating its arm in the blink of an eye. The cerise tinged fire traveled down its body, leaving glowing ashes in its place. The tainted shards hit the ground with a _plink_, making the area around them darken slightly.

Kagome ran over to Rin and grabbed her hand tenderly, taking her pulse in the motion.

"Oh thank kami! She's still breathing! It looks like she fainted from shock." Relief washed over kagome lightening her mood just a bit. Rin didn't have much damage to her on the outside, a few cuts here and there, but she probably had a few broken bones. 'At least she won't bleed to death.'

"Ah-un, I'm going to go get some medical supplies. You need to keep watch over Rin until I get back." Kagome set the little girl by the dragon and went to pick up the jewels. Right when she picked them up, the tainted color fell off the jewel forming a blackened powder onto the ground. The miko went to turn towards the well when she felt a tugging at her clothing. Ah had her sleeve in his mouth while Un nudged kagome in the calf.

"Don't worry; I'll be back as soon as I can."

She pated them both on the head and climbed up onto the lip of the well. 'I hope they'll be okay while I'm gone.'

Kagome leapt into the air and went plummeting down the opening of the well. Colors enveloped her body as she floated through time and space. Her feet touched the ground and she grabbed the nearest vine, climbing up as fast as her arms would let her. Her hand hit the top and she hoisted her body onto the edge of the wells opening. She jumped off, flew up the stairs, and burst open the wooden doors.

Grandpa Higurashi was raking the leaves from around the sacred tree when he saw kagome emerge from the well house doors and run into the house with out even saying hello. He was so happy to see her. She hadn't been home for a couple of months and he was getting worried. He knew about how harsh demons could be and you never know when one could get the better of you. He dropped his rake and ran inside after his granddaughter.

Kagome opened the door and it slammed open, startling her mother.

"Kagome, you're okay! I was so worried!" Miyuu put down the laundry she was folding and wrapped her arms around her daughter. She was so glad she made it home in time!

"Mom, I need medical supplies fast. Did you buy more?" Kagome returned the hug slightly and pulled away. She had missed her mother terribly, but there were people who needed her help. She kissed her mother on the cheek and briskly walked up the stairs to raid the medicine cabinet.

"Kagome dear, what happened? Is everyone alright?" Miyuu went to the coat closet and pulled out a medium sized black bag she had stuffed full of supplies in case of emergencies.

"A demon attacked a little girl named Rin and she needs medical treatment fast. Do we have anything to help with pain?" Kagome was sifting through the cabinet, searching for some pills to stop some of the pain her patients were experiencing. She found a bottle of morphine pills that were prescribed for grandpa's arthritis in his spine. She took a few of them and put them in a small empty pill bottle. Kagome walked down the stairs and her mother pulled her into a bone crushing hug. Grandpa joined in as well.

"Dear, I packed an emergency bag for you a while back in case you were in a situation like today. It has all you need, be safe. "Miyuu released her daughter and slid the bag onto her back, moving her hair out to the side so it wouldn't get caught. She slipped a note in the side pocket and zipped it up for safe keeping. 'She should be able to find that later.'

"I'm sorry I couldn't stay this time, but I'll make sure to come back soon. I love you!" kagome said her last farewell and opened the door.

Souta was walking with his friends up the pathway kicking a soccer ball back and fourth between them. He saw kagome and slammed into her, hugging her waist furiously. It had been a few years since kagome had first traveled into the past and he had gotten taller and more mature.

"Sis! I'm so happy you're home!"

"Souta, I have to go now, but I promise to visit soon, alright?" She quickly returned the hug and rustled her hand in his hair.

She ran back into the old well house and made her way towards the well.

"But kagome!" Souta shouted after her.

"Souta, you know kagome. Whenever someone needs help, she's the first one to volunteer." Miyuu hugged her son to comfort him and maybe even herself. She bent over and whipped his tears.

"But-but it's her birthday! How could she leave on her birthday?!" Souta was heart broken. He hadn't got to see his sister in forever. He had saved the money he had earned from doing yard work for grandpa to buy kagome an 18th birthday present. He hadn't even gotten the chance to give it to her, let alone wish her a happy birthday.

"I know dear, but people need her help. She's doing a good thing. We can always celebrate it later. Come on now dear, let's get back inside. You should invite your friends to dinner." The sadden mother walked inside to start preparing dinner. She made sure to get extra ingredients and place settings for her guests.

Kagome's legs hit the floor of the well and she stared to climb out. Her head popped out to see if her patients were still in the right place and they were. They hadn't moved an inch. When Ah-un spotted her, he huffed. Kagome guessed it was a sigh of relief.

"It's good to see you too." Kagome giggled at his reaction. She bent over to check and she what her mother had packed in the bag. There was a first-aid kit (jumbo sized), towels, some bottled water, some snack food, along with some paper and writing utensils. 'Alright mom, you go! You packed everything that I would have.'

She took out the first aid kit and opened the tin box. She used some of the bottled water to clean the cuts on Rin's delicate body and sprayed some disinfectant on it. She bandaged up all of her injuries and was able to make a make shift splint out of some wood, a small blanket, gauze, and medical tape. She moved to work on Ah-un next. He didn't have as much damage, but his hind legs were a bit banged up. 'They don't seem to be broken…but maybe I should give him some pain medication just in case.'

Kagome ripped open a small aspirin packet and crushed the pills into powder. 'Wait, can demons have pain killers? I don't see why not, but how much should I give him…He's big so it will burn out of his system quickly, but…'

She decided to just give him two to see if it did any harm. She didn't want to make him sick.

"Alright Ah-un, I'm going to go take care of Jaken. I'll come get you when I'm done. Hopefully you'll be healed enough to walk by then." Kagome walked over to where Jaken was and went to her knees.

"Hello Jaken, I'm going to change your bandages, okay?" She removed the bandage on his head first; she would work with one at a time. She picked up her yellow bag and pulled out the pot that was used for cooking and filled it up with the bottled water. She set the blood soaked bandage onto the ground, got a clean one and set it aside. She ripped a piece of cloth off of the towel that she usually used to dry off with and dunked it into the water. Wringing it out, she used it to wipe some of the blood off so she could see where the gash was opened. It was about 4 ½ inches long and 2 centimeters wide right above his eyebrow.

"I'm going to have to stitch this up. It's going to hurt. Here, Take this medicine and bite onto this towel." She cut the morphine pill into four sections and gave him one. He was a little guy, so that would be plenty. After swallowing it, she shoved the small towel into his mouth so he wouldn't be able to bite his tongue from the pain. She put the green thread through the needle and tied the knot. Being as gently as possible, she started sewing the wound closed, careful not to pull too hard. Jaken whimpered at the pain on his head and bit down on the towel.

After sewing the wound, she whipped it clean, sprayed some disinfectant, and lathered it with medication. Bandaging his head with a head bandage, she went for the eye patch that she had made. She lifted it up and had to catch her breath. There was blood everywhere, while lifting it up a pool of blood ran down in droplets all down his face. 'It's not looking to good. There's blood everywhere! It won't stop gushing.'

"Jaken, I'm going to have to heal it with my purification powers, so don't attack me. I won't purify you."Kaede had taught kagome how to heal using her powers. She had gotten extra lessons on how to heal demons in case inuyasha or shippo needed her help.

She put her hand over his eye and let the power flow into it. The powder pink light slowly traveled from her hand, soaking in and around his eye socket. The blood flow came to a halt and the hole started to scab at the edges. His eye that was dangling onto the ground, visibly shrunk, turning into dust that blew away with the wind.

"There. Now that isn't going to bring your eye back, but it will make it skip the pain and go strait to the healing stage. It should feel better in a few days." Kagome cut a rounded shape out of the cloth that she had and stacked multiple layers on top of each other. She applied it to his eye and strapped it onto a long piece of cloth that she would use to tie around his head.

"That should do it." Kagome stood up and grabbed onto the tree above the injured imp for balance. 'Gah, my legs are asleep. 'She stomped her foot onto the ground until she gained control over her limb and walked over to Rin. She was still sleeping next to her dragon friend, twitching every so often from the ache in her bones.

"Alright Ah-un, can you stand?" The beast started to stir, moving each leg out and testing it to make sure it wouldn't buckle under his body weight. He stood up carefully and walked around in a few circles before turning to kagome and rubbing their heads on her shoulders.

"Alright, we need to get to a safe, quiet place to rest. Do you think you can carry Rin While we walk?" The dragon went over to Rin and stood next to her, waiting for kagome to put the sleeping girl on his back. Kagome took that as an okay and carefully place the injured girl onto his back close to his necks so she had somewhere to lean on.

The miko tapped on Ahs head and pointed him in the direction that Jaken was located. On the way over there, kagome took notice on how all the bird started to tweet again, flying overhead from branch to branch.

Jaken looked up through his only eye at the person who was approaching him. Now that his wounds didn't hurt as bad, his mind cleared, making him able to fully understand the situation he was in. His Lords half brothers wench was helping him! He saw Ah-un following her with Rin upright on his back with her eyes closed. 'She seems to be alright…but what is this person doing here?'

"You stinking human, what are you doing here?!" Jaken attempted to get up, but he fell over from dizziness.

"You little imp, what does it look like I'm doing? I'm helping you. Now I don't know about you, but I'm starved. I'm going to get food. It's up to you whether you follow after or not."Kagome looked at Ah-Un and after packing up her things, started to move forward angrily. 'How dare he call me a stinking human! All I was trying to do was help!'

Jaken looked over to the retreating miko and watched as his companions followed after her. His eyes widened at the betrayal. Being stubborn, he sat there until you almost couldn't see where they were going. His stomach growled and he had second thoughts on previous his decision. He didn't like it, but he got up carefully and walked as fast as he could over to the retreating group. He was so dizzy that he walked in a zigzagged line. He stumbled and fell to his knees.

He looked out in front of him and quickly shook his head. He put his hand on the ground in front of him and was startled to hear a crunching sound beneath him. He looked at the strange object and picked it up, flipping it over and examining all sides. 'It seems to be some type of paper.'

He read the writing and his brow creased. 'What a weird way of speech.'

"Jaken, you better hurry up or we'll leave you behind!" Kagome yelled over her shoulder, giving the imp one more chance at following her. He shoved the paper in between the folds in his clothing and ran after them, yelling at kagome to slow down the whole way.

* * *

**As always, thank you for reading 'Behind the Golden Ice'!**

**~AiOtaku**


End file.
